Pfizer, Chinese drug maker ink branded generics deal

By Alaric DeArment

HANGZHOU, China — Pfizer has inked a deal with a Chinese drug maker to make branded-generic drugs for China and global markets, the companies said.

Pfizer said it had partnered with Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceuticals, based in the city of Hangzhou, south of Shanghai on China's eastern coast. The partnership, called Hisun-Pfizer, will operate as a joint venture developing, manufacturing and commercializing branded generics, an umbrella term used to describe branded drugs with active pharmaceutical ingredients that have lost patent protection. Hisun-Pfizer has an aggregate investment of $295 million and a registered capital of $250 million, with Hisun owning a 51% share and Pfizer owning 49%, the companies said.

"Providing high-quality, accessible and affordable health care to people over a vast area and from broad socioeconomic levels has become a primary objective of Chinese healthcare reforms, which is aligned with Pfizer's mission to provide high-equality and affordable medicines to our patients," Pfizer country manager for China Wu Xiaobing said. "The joint venture demonstrates Pfizer's commitment to China's ongoing healthcare reforms and is an important milestone for Pfizer's efforts to broaden the reach of its world-class healthcare solutions in China."